Track-aligning device



Jan. 30, 1940.

TRACK-ALIGNING DEVICE Filed Dec. 2, 1938 INVENTOR W aw/1d Bio a 7 lqr vPatented Jan. 30, 1940 PATENT OFFICE 2,188,818 TRAOK-ALIGNING DEVICEDavid Rich, Spooner, Wis., assignor of fifteen per cent to August J.Lemke, Garnett R. McKeever, and ten ten per' cent to per cent toClarence E. Falk, all'of Spooner, Wis., and ten per cent to Edward H.Grewe, Eau Claire, Wis.

Application December 2, 1938, Serial No. 243,664

' 1 Claim. (01. 254-44) This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in devices for properly aligning the rails of a railwaytrack.

At times, a railway track will work out of 5 proper alignment as aresult of traific thereover, freezing of the ground, et cetera, and whenthis condition develops it is necessary for the track,

including rails and ties, to be moved laterally until proper alignmenthas been'restored. The present invention has for its principal object toprovide means whereby a worker may quickly and successfully restore the'track to proper alignment without the assistance of others.

A further object is to provide a device comprising a shoe member havingan end adapted to engage securely the ballast between the ties and anend adapted to rest upon a rail of the track to be moved into alignment,said device also including lever-operated mechanism having means forengaging the rail whereby said rail and the track of which it is aportion will be moved when the lever-operated mechanism is manipulated.

Cit

Other objects and'advantages willbe apparent from the followingdescription when taken in connection with the. accompanying drawing inwhich Figure 1 is a perspective view ofthe shoe member,

H are upwardly inclinedspaced ratchet bars l3 having teeth M on theirupper faces.

The lever member includes a rock lever l5 having its lower endbifurcated as at l6 and having its upper end of hollow construction toprovide a socket for an operating bar l1. Pivotally mounted within thebifurcation l6 and depending therefrom is a pawl 18 and pivotallymounted Figure 2 is a perspective view of the leverwithin the outer endof the bifurcation is one end of a rail-engaging arm l9. It will benoted that the pawl I8 is provided with downwardly extending lugs-ateach side whereby to engage the outer sides of the ratchet bars 13 andthereby prevent lateral displacement of the pawl. This arm I9 isprovided with a hook 20 adjacent its pivotal end, and an angularlyextending portion 2| at its outer or free end, said hook being adaptedto receive one side of a rail head therein, while the portion 2| restson the other side of the rail head.

When the device is to be put to use the shoe member In is first placedin position between the ties with the plate ll embedded in the ballast22 in such a manner that the flange 12 will rest on the surface of theballast, the free ends of the ratchet bars l3 being positioned so: as torest upon the head of the rail 23 to be aligned. The lever member isthen applied to the shoe member by placing the rock lever l5 between theratchet bars [3 so that the arm ill with its hook 2E! and portion 2|will engage the rail head in the manner illustrated in Figure 3, whereinone of the ratchet bars I3 is broken away, and so that the pawl l8 willengage certain of the teeth It. A suitable bar I! is then placed in thesocket of the rock lever 15 by means of which said;

lever may be rocked to force the hook 211 against the rail head and thusmove the track into proper alignment.

What is claimed, is: A railroad track-aligning device comprising a shoemember including a base plate adapted to penetrate thetrack ballast andhaving. front and rear faces, spaced ratchet bars connected toandextending forwardly from the front face of the base plate, a flangeextending rearwardly from the upper edge of the rear face of the baseplate and adapted to engage the surface of the track ballast, abifurcated rock lever positioned be tween the ratchet bars, awork-engaging member pivotally mounted in the outer end of thebifurcation, and a pawl pivotally mounted" within the bifurcationinwardly of the work-engaging memberand adapted to engage the ratchetbars whereby to provide a fulcrum for the rock lever.

DAVID RICH.

